The tragedienne the Church shut its doors on
A Parisian stage legend loved women. At her funeral, the crowd stormed the church that had turned her away.
On 15 January 1815, Mademoiselle Raucourt, one of the most celebrated tragic actresses of her time, died in Paris. Born Françoise Saucerotte in Nancy in 1756, the daughter of an actor, she made her debut at the Comédie-Française at sixteen as Dido. Paris was at her feet at once. People were crowding in front of the theatre from the morning onwards.
The fame did not last long. Soon the city was talking less about her roles than about her life. Raucourt spent more than she had, and she loved women without making a big secret of it. Among her lovers was the opera singer Sophie Arnould. An anonymous lampoon even declared her the leader of a secret sect of lesbian women that never existed. To escape her creditors, she fled France in 1776 and lost her place in the company.
It was Queen Marie Antoinette who paved the way back for her. Raucourt worked doggedly on the great classical roles, on Medea and Phaedra, and was soon considered one of the finest tragic actresses in the country. The Revolution put the royalist in prison for months. There she met Henriette Simonnot-Ponty. The two remained a couple until Raucourt's death. Later, Napoleon sent her to Italy to establish French theatre there.
Her death became her last scandal. The priest of Saint-Roch did not want an actress's coffin in his church. The crowd following the funeral procession would not put up with it. They forced their way into the church until a clergyman appeared on behalf of King Louis XVIII and gave the blessing. Thousands then accompanied the tragedienne to Père Lachaise Cemetery, where she is buried to this day.
Mademoiselle Raucourt never asked for permission, neither on stage nor in life. Even her funeral had to be fought for by her public.